The compounds of the present invention have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,654 herein incorporated by reference. A process for preparing the compounds is also described therein. That process includes a chromatographic separation and recrystallization procedures which are quite time consuming.
Another process for making anthra[1,9-cd]pyrazol-6(2H)-ones is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,439. That process proceeds as follows:
Compounds of structural formula ##STR1## are reacted with a hydrazine of formula EQU H.sub.2 NNHDNHR'
wherein Q, Q', and Q" may be the same or different and are H, benzyloxy, p-chlorobenzyloxy, and p-methoxybenzyloxy; D is straight or branched alkylene group of from two to eight carbon atoms; and R' is an alkyl group of from two to eight carbon atoms which may be substituted with OH, to produce a compound of structural formula ##STR2##
Compounds of structural Formula VII are reacted with a benzyl halide in a suitable solvent to give compounds of structural formula ##STR3## wherein R.sub.5 is benzyl.
Compounds of VIII are reacted with a diamine of the formula ##STR4## wherein R.sub.4 is H or an alkyl group of from one to eight carbon atoms and R.sub.5 is as defined above, D' is a straight or branched alkylene group of from two to eight carbon atoms, to produce compounds of structural formula ##STR5## which are debenzylated by a standard procedure to produce compounds of the structural Formula V wherein X, X', and W may be the same or different and are H or OH; R is H or alkyl of from one to six carbon atoms; D, D', R.sub.4 and R' are as defined above.
The compounds are useful as antibacterial and antifungal agents.
Certain of the compounds show in vivo antileukemic activity. Certain of the compounds display in vitro activity against solid tumors.